How does marriage across rites work?

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justbeinfrank

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I have a Roman Catholic friend who’s engaged to a Ukrainian Catholic. (His parents are immigrants, so he’s been raised in their Church.)

For some reason, she’s under the impression that while she has the option of ‘switching’ to the Ukrainian Catholic Church (and her fiance does not), the wedding must be in a Ukrainian Catholic church, done according to the Ukrainian liturgy, and she must raise her future children as Ukrainian Catholics.

Except they both prefer the Latin Rite! If the couple had their druthers, *she *would remain a Roman Catholic, and *he *would ‘switch’ to the Latin Rite, in which they would raise their children. But they say that for him to switch to the Latin Rite would require approval from some dicastery in the Holy See!

Is there any truth to this? Does anyone know what the real rules are?
 
In general, the children take on the Ritual Church of the father, so they would be Latin Rite Catholics. If she were Orthodox then the marriage would take place in the Orthodox church. According to Eastern Canon Law, the marriage takes place in the parish of the groom (Canon 831.2). And, yes, at the time of the marriage she can change ritual Churches. This is a one-time switch and she can never change back.

I hope this helps.

Deacon Ed
 
I hope this helps.

Deacon Ed

Writer of question has suggestion that only son of Immigrant would be Ukrainian Catholic and would be great problem to raise children as Ukrainian Catholics. Perhaps what Father Eduard says is right, as he knows canons of church, but I pray couple gives Ukrainian Church further look.
 
Perhaps I’m not reading this correctly, but my understanding from the original post was that the man in this upcoming marriage was the Ukranian Catholic, not the woman. This being the case, if the children (if any) from this marriage take the rite of their father, they would be Ukranian Catholics, not Latin. I do not know if this affects which Church or according to which Rite the Sacrament of Matrimony must be conferred.
 
Joseph Bilodeau:
I do not know if this affects which Church or according to which Rite the Sacrament of Matrimony must be conferred.
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The Marriage HAS TO TAKE PLACE IN THE RITE OF THE HUSBAND! Have seen Ukrainian priests stop weddings when they take place in a Latin Rite parish.

If one of them is Orthodox, they would go to the Eastern church so the party of the Orthodox faith is not giving up his/her Liturgical Tradition (have a couple like this in my parish).

Hope this helps…
 
Thank you for your reply, but it was not necessary to shout.
 
Joseph Bilodeau:
Perhaps I’m not reading this correctly, but my understanding from the original post was that the man in this upcoming marriage was the Ukranian Catholic, not the woman. This being the case, if the children (if any) from this marriage take the rite of their father, they would be Ukranian Catholics, not Latin. I do not know if this affects which Church or according to which Rite the Sacrament of Matrimony must be conferred.
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Joseph,

You’re right – I switched the parties in my response. The children will be Ukrainian Catholics (the Church of the Father) and the marriage is to take place in the Ukrainian Church. She may switch rites at that time if she wishes.

Of course, if they wish to proceed in the Latin Church, then the father should request a change of Ritual Church so that the children are Latin.

Mea culpa.

Deacon Ed
 
From the website inthespiritofcana.org

2.6.10.1 Marriage to a Member of an Orthodox Church

Eastern Christianity differs from Western Christianity in more than just ritual. It represents a different theology, spirituality, and culture as well. The term “Orthodox Christian” includes two groups that are not in communion with the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Examples of Eastern Orthodox Churches are the Greek, Russian, and Serbian. Examples of Oriental Orthodox Churches are the Armenian, Coptic, and Malankarese.

As a general rule, Orthodox Churches require that their members marry with the blessing of an Orthodox priest and do not envisage a non-Orthodox service. Unless pastoral and human considerations indicate otherwise, a marriage between a Catholic and Orthodox Christian may take place in the church of the Orthodox party, provided a dispensation from canonical form is first obtained from the Catholic Ordinary, through the Office of Canonical Services.

However, although the obligation placed on the Orthodox person has to be taken into careful consideration and may be a reason to recommend an Orthodox wedding to avoid obvious possible negative effects on the couple, this is not to be taken for granted. It is not an ecumenically valid motive for the Catholic pastor to recommend automatically a dispensation from the Catholic form of marriage. There are often very good reasons for prolonging the discussion of the location of the wedding ceremony (for instance cultural, national, familial, as well as religious factors). Moreover this situation may well foreshadow other difficulties that the marriage will encounter such as negative attitudes in families. Also it is Orthodox practice that the marriage normally take place in the parish of the groom. It is of greatest importance that the couple discuss the implications of where the wedding ceremony will take place with both of their pastors, Catholic and Orthodox.

Procedure

In the case of Catholic-Orthodox marriages, two booklets are available from the Office for Canonical Services or the Family Ministries Office, one written specifically for the couple and one for the pastoral minister. Please call the Office for Canonical Services (see Appendix G) for a copy of these booklets.

Paperwork

In the case of Catholic-Orthodox marriages, marriage papers should be filled out in the Catholic party’s parish as if the marriage were taking place there. Should it seem advisable that the marriage take place in the church of the Orthodox party, then a dispensation from canonical form should be requested. Once the marriage takes place, it is to be recorded in the marriage register of the Catholic parish where the Orthodox Church is located or in the marriage register of the Catholic party’s parish.

Preparation

See Appendix C for the recommended outline to follow for optimum effective marriage preparation. This outline was designed for parishes with ample resources; not all parishes will be able to follow this exactly. See Appendix D for descriptions of the various marriage preparation programs offered through the Archdiocese. Appendix E has information about the FOCCUS Premarital Inventory. See Appendix F for information about Natural Family Planning
 
Joseph Bilodeau:
Thank you for your reply, but it was not necessary to shout.
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Sorry if it appears I was shouting, but I wasn’t… just putting emphasis on some words.

So many Latin Rite priests turn their head and wink when a mixed Rite couple shows up.

More Eastern Rite priests need to stand up and be counted!!!
 
Okay, there’s a number of misunderstandings here:

  1. *]Nobody in question is Eastern Orthodox. I don’t want to know the procedures for marrying an Orthodox.
    *]The man in question is Ukrainian Catholic, and the woman is Roman Catholic.
    *]They both want to be in the Latin Rite, and they want to know how to go about doing this!

    Can anyone give me an answer to #3? He would need to switch to the Latin Rite. What is the procedure for that? And why is it so inflexible!?
 
A generic answer that will work for many questions like this is to have this couple talk to their Pastor, then if the Pastor is unable to help, ask for help from the Diocese. In this particular case I think the Latin Rite Pastor and Diocese would have the correct information, as that is the Rite this man wants to join.
 
The man has to have his Ukrainian Catholic pastor contact his Urkainian Catholic Bishop to get an official change of Rite from the Holy See in Rome.

He has to have a “good” explaination as to why he wants to change Rites. Just to get married isn’t good enough!

If a Latin Rite priest marries this couple, he should be repremanded!
 
Actually, a Latin Church priest or deacon cannot officiate at such a wedding.

If the husband wants to be married in the Latin Church, he must first become a member of the Latin Church, and go through the procedure of changing churches.
 
Why are the various Churches so territorial? Why is it so hard to switch, and why does an American in the United States, marrying a Latin Rite Catholic, need a “good reason besides marriage” to become a Latin Rite Catholic? He prefers the Roman Church! Furthermore, she doesn’t speak Ukrainian, and neither will their children!

This territorial baloney seems contrary to the unity and oneness of our Church! It’s very disturbing if you ask me.
 
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justbeinfrank:
Why are the various Churches so territorial? Why is it so hard to switch, and why does an American in the United States, marrying a Latin Rite Catholic, need a “good reason besides marriage” to become a Latin Rite Catholic? He prefers the Roman Church! Furthermore, she doesn’t speak Ukrainian, and neither will their children!

This territorial baloney seems contrary to the unity and oneness of our Church! It’s very disturbing if you ask me.
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Rites are not just a few words of difference here and there, and a little more or less incense. The rites go back to the time of the apostles. It is much more than “territorial”; it is juridical, among other things, cultural, in part theological (in terms of perspective). Rites have deep roots, and one needs to be firmly rooted whwere ever one grows.

For those who have lost some, or most of, the cultural roots associated with a rite, then it may be appropriate to change rites; but it is not, and to the best of my knowledge never has been, something one does willy-nilly.

Furthermore, the oneness of the Church is oneness in belief, not necessarily oneness in expression of that belief. If you read the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul’s letters, you will see that this issue was evident in the earliest Church; did Gentiles have to become ritual Jews to become Chrristian? The answer then was “No”, and the Ch;urch has managed to survive for 2000 years with oneness of belief without oneness of expression.
 
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justbeinfrank:
Why are the various Churches so territorial? Why is it so hard to switch, and why does an American in the United States, marrying a Latin Rite Catholic, need a “good reason besides marriage” to become a Latin Rite Catholic? He prefers the Roman Church! Furthermore, she doesn’t speak Ukrainian, and neither will their children!

This territorial baloney seems contrary to the unity and oneness of our Church! It’s very disturbing if you ask me.
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The reason is he is a member of a different Church, not just a different Rite. Canonically, he is a member of the UGCC while she is a member of the Latin Church. Catholicism is a communion of different Churches with the Supreme Pontiff as Universal Pastor; it’s one Church in the sense that we all believe in the same dogmas and doctrines, but it is a Communion of Churches juridically, hierarchically, and disciplinary. The Eastern Churches and the Latin Church are equal in dignity yet very different theologically. In order to emphasize the diversity of beliefs, each individual Church in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See has to be guarded… people can’t just switch rites due to preference without studying what makes an Eastern Catholic who he is and what makes a Latin Catholic who he is. They need sound catechetical instruction in the theology of the different Ritual Churches.
 
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justbeinfrank:
…Furthermore, she doesn’t speak Ukrainian, and neither will their children!..
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Ukranian speech is not any more necessary for members of the Ukranian Church than Latin speech is for members of the Latin Church. Knowledge of either those languages, however, would be great assets, allowing members of both respective Churches to more deeply appreciate the richness of their Churches.

If any members of his family do speak ukranian, I would hope that any children do have the opportunity to learn this language as well as english (or whatever language(s) the parents speak in common), regardless of which Church they may be in together. Treasures of ones heritage, such as ancestral languages, should be preserved when possible.
 
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